Monday, September 7, 2015

It's OK To Like What You Do! by Caitlin Peck

Just over two years after my last day of
graduate school at Moore College of Art & Design I finally consider my
adjustments post art school. I’m comparing what I thought I knew then to my
actual experience in the art world now. After 7 years submerged in art
academia, I only knew artists and artsy people. In the past two years,
I’ve sidled up to more non-artists and realized art school is really more a
corral for artists rather than a reflection of what my social circle would
consist of upon release. My new crew gained me insight on two tandem lessons.
Number one: don’t take yourself too seriously because, number two: no one has
any idea what you’re talking about. In the close-knit community of a MFA
program, where you’re regurgitating your thesis over and over again to your
peers and professors, eventually everyone becomes as much of an expert on your
research as yourself. I remember one of my first interactions outside of the
art school bubble and the inevitable question: “So, what is your work about?” My
elevator speech suddenly sounded completely inadequate. For over two years I
was practicing mine on 9 other people and thought it concise and perfected. In
reality, my listeners perfected their understanding. Over time I learned the
importance of stripping away the eye-rolling art jargon to build a more
relatable subject line to my studio practice. In not taking myself too
seriously, I struggled outside of art school with this confusing revelation: I
can do what I want. There is jest about Catholic or Jewish guilt; if things are
enjoyable, they can’t be good. No one talks about art school guilt. Nearly all
ex-art students I encounter suffer from this. One of my problems with higher
learning in the arts is artists are trained to meet some goal at the determination
of others. Sometimes that means sacrifice. Graduate classes had such a serious
attitude and after graduation I thought my studio practice needed to be met in
the same way. It doesn’t. I became more productive in the studio once “fun”
lost its rank as another kind of f-word and realized it’s OK to
like what I do.

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C'est Moi!

James Rosenthal is an artist, critic and teacher who resides in Philadelphia. He holds degrees in Painting from RISD and Syracuse University and has been writing art reviews and essays since 1999. Also in the works is a comic novel (Work Shy) about an artist who alienates himself from the artworld. Stay Tuned!
Recent exhibitions in include:
Ernest Rubenstein Gallery, NY, NY,
Rebekah Templeton, Selections 6 at Moore College of Art and Design and SubTerrane at the Center for Emerging Artists, Phila, PA. Artist Flat Files at Perogi 2000 in Williamsburg, NY.
Both his art and writing can be found at InLiquid.com if you look really hard!